Bound to My Love
by Ayuka
Summary: One chapter - Kikyo forces Inuyasha to choose between her and Kagome. Who will he choose? Inuyasha/? Please R+R!


This is my first fanfic, so you see why I need reviews. I hope that you enjoy. If you would like to email me, my address is water_misty@hotmail.com. Thank you!  
  
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Inuyasha! But I own something else, Mezameru 5. Please check it out when I figure out where to publish it!  
  
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Bound to My Love By Ayuka Botaki  
  
Inuyasha gazed up at the sky, sitting in a tree at usual. He fidgeted, uneasy. Kagome was staring at him . . . again. Normally he might have demanded, "What!?" but he knew what was going through the girl's head. He had disappeared for a few hours the last night. Guiltily, he recalled the events that had just transpired.  
  
**************************************************************************** *  
  
It was the first night of the new moon, so Inuyasha had been uneasy. Miroku had gotten the bunch into an expensive tavern, near a lake and forest, by telling the owner that there was an "ominous cloud" shrouding the tavern and then performing an "exorcism".  
  
After Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippo had gone to sleep, Inuyasha began to wander off into the forest. Not only was he feeling restless, but he was feeling some sort of pull from the forest as well. In any case, he made his way into the forest, laying a lingering look on Kagome before he left.  
  
Inuyasha wandered deep into to the forest . . . when he came across a familiar face.  
  
"Ki . . . Kikyo . . ." he whispered. No matter how many times he saw her, he would always be surprised by her appearance. She's dead! he told himself. Kikyo was the exact opposite. She always seemed to be awaiting him.  
  
"Inuyasha." The long dead miko stared straight at him.  
  
"Why are you here?" he demanded.  
  
"It's time, Inuyasha. I'm tired of waiting for you while you lead on that girl. It's time for you to make a final decision. And you know who the right choice is. I'll be waiting for you right here tomorrow night. Stop wasting your time with searching for jewel shards when you can come with me to hell. I bid you, come with me or live with only my memory for eternity."  
  
"But . . . Kikyo . . ."  
  
"Leave her behind, Inuyasha. If you were to have any relationship with her, it would be noting compared to what we had fifty years ago. Those long years . . . think, Inuyasha, we could be together for eternity. Don't you remember what you told me before? 'Anything, as long as I can be with you.' You know you want this as much as I do."  
  
"But . . . tomorrow?" he wasn't sure if he could decide.  
  
"That's right - tomorrow, at midnight. I'll be waiting for you. This is your last chance. Pick me over her - and if you don't, I'll go to hell and leave you behind. You longed for me before - I know that you do not want to mourn me again. I will see you tomorrow, Inuyasha." And with that, her soul- gatherers wrapped around her frail body and carried her away.  
  
Inuyasha breathed deeply. 'What now?' he thought.  
  
As he began the walk back to the tavern, he focused on Kikyo's ultimatum.  
  
I don't know . . . would the person I'm supposed to be with force me to make a sudden decision like this? But then, it's not so sudden . . . I mean, we were together before Naraku came between us. And we were so happy. At each other's sides through the seasons . . . and then when she fell into my arms . . . she's so . . . she needs my protection. If Naraku hadn't come between us . . .  
  
But then, he recalled what Naraku had said the first time they came face to face for real.  
  
What was it that Naraku said . . . 'If you had really loved each other, why was it that you let me come between you?' Maybe we're not meant to be . . . but Kagome? We've had some moments . . . I hate to admit it, but I remember when I was human and poisoned that one night . . . I couldn't stop myself from saying what I said . . .  
  
"Kagome . . . you smell kind of nice . . ." he had said, resting in Kagome's lap.  
  
"Wait a minute . . . you made a point of telling me that you couldn't stand my scent!" Kagome had retorted, putting a hand up to her heart.  
  
"I know . . . but I was lying . . ."  
  
And that was the truth. I . . . her scent . . . there's nothing like it. Spicy and sweet. Just like how she is.  
  
With that, he fell asleep, hoping to come to a decision in the morning.  
  
**************************************************************************** *  
  
And here he was, midday, and sitting up in a tree. Kagome was staring at him. He couldn't stand it anymore.  
  
"What are you lookin' at!?" he demanded. There. That would get her off of his back.  
  
"We're supposed to be looking for jewel shards, you baka!" she yelled back. Damn. Now he had to come up with a plausible excuse. Not to mention that if e decided to go to hell with Kikyo, he had to meet her in that forest. Wait . . .  
  
"Fine. Let's go look in the forest then. You sense anything?"  
  
"No way! We're not half as near to it as we need to be for me to sense anything?"  
  
"Well, then, let's go!" Inuyasha leaped down from the tree, landing gracefully in front of Kagome. He studied her face.  
  
Kagome stared back. "Inu . . . yasha?"  
  
But he wasn't listening. He was thinking - he used to see Kikyo in Kagome, but now he only saw Kagome. She had changed. She had become more important to him, now. Especially since he had at first tried to kill her.  
  
"Miroku," Inuyasha called under his breath. Oh yeah. He'd have to be desperate to ask Miroku advice about women. But he was. Quickly he explained that Kikyo was forcing him to choose.  
  
Surprisingly, Miroku was serious. "Inuyasha, you know that we don't want you to leave us," he said, looking Inuyasha straight in the eye as the continued walking. "Especially Kagome. You know she has feelings for you, just as you have feelings for her."  
  
Inuyasha blushed. "But what about Kikyo?"  
  
"Well, I can't tell you who to pick," Miroku said, "but I can tell you this. You need to think about what you really like about each woman."  
  
"And," he added with a grin, "if you chose Kikyo, I'll gladly take Kagome."  
  
Inuyasha glared at him, but he knew that Miroku was only joking. He settled deep into thought, at the end of the group. Miroku had jogged up next to Sango, as Kagome bicycled in the lead, Shippo in her basket. It seemed that she had sensed a jewel shard, but Inuyasha was oblivious to what was going on.  
  
He liked then both. A lot. He thought back . . . Kagome yelled at him frequently, saying "Sit!" among other things. On the other hand, Kikyo was quieter and more patient. In power, Kikyo's miko powers were far more evolved than Kagome's making the former and Inuyasha matched in terms of strength. At this point, Inuyasha was thinking of following Kikyo. Kikyo had renounced her position as a shrine priestess just to be with him. She had kissed him. All these tings showed how much Kikyo was devoted to him. 'She lingers in this world for me,' Inuyasha thought, "for me."  
  
Why was it that Kagome stayed in this era?  
  
"Hiraikoitsu!" Sango yelled, interrupting Inuyasha's thoughts (A/N: Sorry for spelling).  
  
Her boomerang soared through the air, slicing a giant mantis cleanly in half. However . . .  
  
"It's still moving!" Miroku yelled.  
  
"It has three jewel shards!" Kagome yelled. She grabbed an arrow and shot it straight at the three shards, which were scattered in the air. The mantis disintegrated immediately.  
  
"Good job, Kagome!" Sango called.  
  
"Right back at ya!" Kagome replied, smiling widely.  
  
Inuyasha was impressed at how much Kagome had improved at archery. 'She used to shoot and not come close," he thought. Then again, Kagome had improved and changed in many other ways, too.  
  
When they went to battle Yura, she had shown more courage and bravery than he had thought she possessed. She had not wanted to return, but did so anyway to protect her family. She had taken the battle into her own hands, trying to hit Yura with an arrow and then climbing up her lair of hair and skulls.  
  
I'm glad I gave her my kimono, Inuyasha thought. Or else she'd have burned to a crisp or lost her right arm.  
  
It seemed that protecting Kagome was important to him.  
  
Kagome had defeated Yura, pulled the Tetsusaiga out of the platform in his father's grave, and stopped him from being sucked in Miroku's air-rip when they first came across the monk. She had shed tears for him. She had risked her life for him.  
  
Risked her life . . . for me . . .  
  
He recalled one of his favorite memories, after they had helped Jinenji. He'd actually opened up a little to Kagome.  
  
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"So . . ." Kagome started.  
  
" Yeah?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Did that kind of thing happen to you too?"  
  
"Did what happen."  
  
"Bullying. Were you picked on?"  
  
"Feh. Yeah, right. I don't roll over for anyone."  
  
"No. Of course not!"  
  
He could tell that she knew that he was lying. So he went on and said . . .  
  
"I'm not one or the other."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Not really a demon, not really human. I'm not either." He stopped, and Kagome stopped behind him.  
  
"That's all. There was no place for me, so I had to make one for myself. And then I realized: I had a place, but I was the only one in it. I didn't know any other way to live."  
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome started, "I'm just . . ."  
  
He turned to look at her.  
  
" . . . happy to hear it."  
  
"Happy how?" he asked, giving her a look.  
  
"It's just that you've never opened up to me before. I've always wondered about your past, you know? I thought you were all bark and no bite. But I wasn't sure. I'm just happy you can talk to me seriously, is all."  
  
"And that makes you happy." He was thinking, Why would she care abut my stupid past? Everyone just hated me, calling me half-breed . . .  
  
"Uh-huh." Kagome smiled. "So don't worry about showing me your soft side, okay?"  
  
"Feh. You make it sound like I'm some pet who needs company."  
  
"What's wrong with that?" Kagome said, continuing to walk down the path. "It's nice not to be alone."  
  
That's right, Inuyasha thought, watching Kagome walk, with a straight back and proud demeanor. I'm not alone. Somehow, without my ever noticing it, it just seemed so natural, having Kagome around.  
  
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Inuyasha smiled. Kagome's always helping people. If only she had been around when I was kid; when everyone made fun of me for being a half-breed.  
  
Wait . . . he thought. That's it!  
  
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Miroku told the others that he had caught a cold, at Inuyasha's request. They needed to stay near the forest so that he could see her. Kikyo.  
  
Although Inuyasha had made his choice, he had not told Miroku what it was. A little before midnight, he prepared to depart the tavern. Everyone was sleeping. Inuyasha smiled. They'd never know he'd gone.  
  
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After Inuyasha left, Kagome got up. She knew Inuyasha was going to see Kikyo.  
  
He's going to hell with her, I know it, she thought. Well, maybe I can say goodbye to him.  
  
Kagome slipped out of the cabin and followed Inuyasha at a distance. She loved him.  
  
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"Inuyasha."  
  
"Kikyo," he responded, just as evenly. "I'll tell you something.  
  
"I thought all day about this decision. And then I came to a conclusion.  
  
"You and Kagome both tried to help me fix problems that arose because I'm half-demon. But that's where the similarity ends. You, Kikyo, you wanted to use the Shikon Jewel to change me into a human, like you. Kagome, on the other hand, would have me stay as I am or change into whatever I wanted. You see, it doesn't matter to her, just as long as I stay the same inside."  
  
"You lie, Inuyasha. That girl never told you anything like what you have just said."  
  
"That's true. But I know that that really is how she feels."  
  
"Inuyasha . . . are you saying . . . that you are choosing her over me?  
  
"Yes. Yes, I am. And you know what the biggest reason is? It's that Kagome would never force me to choose! Kikyo, she is nothing like you. She would wait for me to come to a decision on my own. You just dug your own grave.  
  
"Goodbye, Kikyo." Inuyasha turned and began to return back to the tavern.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kikyo called. Inuyasha turned, to see tears beginning to flow down Kikyo's pale face. "Tell me, what is it that you see in her?"  
  
Inuyasha smiled. "Don't you know? Can't you tell?"  
  
Kikyo was silent.  
  
"She stays by me, day after day, and yet she gets nothing in return. She has no need for the jewel shards, and yet she helps me. She's become a big part of my life. I get my strength from her.  
  
"Maybe we were separated too long, Kikyo. Maybe fifty years was too much for us. Maybe Naraku was too much for us. Kikyo, I loved you first. But I'll never love you the same way I love Kagome."  
  
"Inuyasha," Kikyo said, "You could stay with me forever. One day, Kagome will die. Come with me to hell, Inuyasha!"  
  
"Kikyo, give it up. Just give it up. When that problem arises, we will deal with it. But for the time being, we'll stay together. Goodbye, Kikyo."  
  
"Inuyasha . . ."  
  
Inuyasha continued walking. He didn't look back. But if he had, he would have seen that Kikyo was sobbing. She had lost her love.  
  
That was the hardest thing, Inuyasha thought, that I ever had to do. At this point, he was quite far away from Kikyo.  
  
"Inu . . . yasha?"  
  
Inuyasha jumped. It was Kagome, standing directly in front of him. "Kagome?"  
  
"I heard what you said. And I just wanted . . . "  
  
She couldn't be strong anymore. She ran the few strides over to Inuyasha and held onto him. He embraced her cold, shivering body.  
  
It was warm outside.  
  
"I was scared," she confessed. "I thought that you were going to hell with Kikyo, and I just wanted to say goodbye. Inuyasha, if you had gone, I would have . . ."  
  
"But I didn't," he said. "I will never leave you, Kagome."  
  
"I love you," she said, crying. "I love you so much."  
  
"I know," he said. "I love you, too. But you know that by now . . ."  
  
And he leaned toward Kagome, who closed her eyes.  
  
It was the perfect kiss.  
  
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Miroku awoke first the next day, wondering if Inuyasha would be thee next to him. He looked to his right, and saw no one.  
  
So, the monk thought, he chose Kikyo after all.  
  
Then he looked to his right and saw Inuyasha sleeping on a different futon, holding Kagome, who was holding him as well. Both were smiling as they slept.  
  
Miroku grinned.  
  
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Just so you know, I'm a big fan of Kagome. I hope that you liked my fic.  
  
Regardless of if you didn't or did, I would like you to read Mezameru 5. It's a new story about five girls with a mission. It has elements from many different manga/anime storylines. If you like Inuyasha, you might like it. Well, I guess that I should stop rambling, huh? It may be in Misc. on Fanfiction.net or on Fictionpress.net in Fantasy or Manga. (In a week?)  
  
Please review!  
  
My email: water_misty@hotmail.com  
  
Thank you! 


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